Respite
by Madame Estrella
Summary: Part Nine of The Labyrinth Series, post IOTH


Category: ALL/Drama  
  
Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: Up to IOTH Summary: Part nine of the Labyrinth Series. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.  
  
"Sometimes to realize you were well, someone must come along and hurt you." - Perry Farrell, In Sadness  
  
Respite  
by Madame Estrella  
  
Thunder rumbled as lighting tore through the night sky. Rain hammered against the wooden roof and windows of the small cabin in Rising Sun, Delaware. Emily glanced at the window as it was illuminated by another strike and the boy huddled closer to her.  
  
"Em-lee!" He whimpered. She shushed him and gently stroked his hair.  
  
"It'll be all right." She said quietly. "It's only a storm and it will pass, Aidan."  
  
The little boy swallowed hard and looked at her face. She smiled at him lovingly. The boy looked more like his father every day.  
  
He wasn't coming, she'd decided that morning. She'd waited with the boy for a week, and he still hadn't come. She'd held out hope, lit a candle in the window, and tied a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree. But she knew he wasn't coming.  
  
He'd fallen on the airstrip. He'd provided them the opportunity of escape but had not done so himself. He couldn't have.  
  
That night Emily had carried the boy into the cabin and kicked the door shut behind them. She'd put him down and then quickly locked the door and closed the curtains and paced for a moment before remembering him. She'd knelt on the floor and held his shoulders gently. He looked up at her with a tear stained face.  
  
"Miss Icing?" He'd asked. She'd smiled lovingly at him.  
  
"No, my name is Emily and I'll be taking care of you." Her words a mere reflection of those Sydney had said to Jarod years before.  
  
"Are we going home?" He'd asked.  
  
"No, we are home." She'd smiled and picked him up and carried him to the smaller bedroom and helped him change his clothes into fresh ones that had been set there before. Before.  
  
Things had gone so badly at the end. They knew Alex would be there when they returned to the Centre and they knew there would be a lot of trouble, guns fired... She shook her head and winced at the memory of Lyle aiming the gun at her.  
  
"Get him out of here." It was more of a threat than an order. If she hadn't gotten the boy out as planned then he would have killed her, even though he'd already been shot himself.  
  
She'd paced the small cabin the entire night they'd arrived. With each step she'd grown angrier with him. He'd lied to her about everything else, why should she be surprised that he'd lied about wearing a bulletproof vest as well.  
  
But why hadn't he? When she'd spied the envelope on the kitchen table marked Sleepwalk she had torn it open. Inside had been her answer.  
  
There were a couple pictures of her from Possum Kingdom and some others taken before then, but she wasn't sure when. Then she opened the letter and began to read. She was crying long before the Love Always, Bobby. The letter fell out of her hands and she covered her face and sank into the chair and sobbed loudly.  
  
He knew he wasn't going to make it. He knew that the only good thing left to show of him, or the only one rather was his son. And he'd trusted his son to her. She sobbed harder as all the pieces fell into place.  
  
When it was written she did not know. Before they'd even left was what she knew. He'd only sealed his fate by not protecting himself the way he had them. He'd effectively committed suicide. An act she'd personally prevented delayed six months before.  
  
'I'm doing you a favor.' He'd said.  
  
Now what? How in the Hell would she explain this to her family? She was now the legal parent of a child she rescued from the Centre. Not only that, but he was the son of the man who killed her brother. But she couldn't tell the boy. How the Hell could she make this work?  
  
She'd felt him tug at her sleeve and looked down and smiled as she'd lifted him into her lap. He smiled a little and she pulled him into a hug and he hugged her around the neck.  
  
"Little boy," she said softly, "I'm going to call you Aidan."  
  
A week later the same boy fell into a restless sleep in her arms, as she lies awake in the storm.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Margaret watched silently through the doorway as Jarod packed his bags. He had been inconsolable since the news from the Centre had proclaimed that Aisling, Emily was dead.  
  
He looked at her sadly as he slung a bag over his shoulder. She moved to fill the doorway and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"Leaving won't make anything better." She said. He frowned.  
  
"I have to find answers." He replied.  
  
"And in the search for those answers you've already lost two siblings. I can't lose another child, Jarod." She said.  
  
"If I don't keep searching then they will have died in vain." He grumbled.  
  
"And if you continue this search the Centre will catch you, Jarod." She said. "They have before and will again. It's only a matter of time."  
  
Jarod moved closer to her and she took a more rigid stance.  
  
"Mom, I going one way or another." He said. Margaret looked at her son solemnly.  
  
"Come home soon, Jarod." She said with exasperation.  
  
He hugged her and she reluctantly released him and then followed him to the living room where she sat down, unable to watch her son's departure. She sniffed and wiped a tear as she heard the engine start.  
  
She remembered Emily's face the night she left. Her expression had been the same one Jarod had worn just moments before.  
  
"Nothing is going to happen to her." Lyle had said. She shook her head. Lyle would say anything he needed to in order to make things go the way he wanted. Now he had taken another child from her. She should have known better than to trust him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Miss Parker stood in the sim lab, looking over a map of the airstrip and the surrounding area. She hadn't slept well the past week and for once it wasn't due to late night interference.  
  
The pretender had been silent since she'd last spoken with him on the phone when she was in Africa. But his absence was not the cause of her lack of sleep. Alex, Lyle and Aisling were.  
  
She'd been suspicious before, but now she was certain that they had been up to no good. Her suspicions had been confirmed once she'd laid out the positions of everyone on this map.  
  
Alex had come in one of the Centre cars. So how would he have known that there was one hidden by the river? Because the three of them had engineered the attack and kidnapping of Parker of course.  
  
They had seemed so genuine at the airstrip. As if they were actually afraid that Alex would kill them. Lyle had even taken a bullet for the cause. Now he lay in a coma in the renewal wing and she was going to be there when he woke up.  
  
She wondered if Aisling was really dead, or if she and Alex were laughing it up somewhere while their partner lay in critical condition. She also wondered what they wanted with Parker.  
  
Parker had shown extraordinary ability at such a young age. Maybe they were planning on exploiting the young boys' skills as the Centre only wished they could. Making Parker a new pretender was something she had wanted to stop; now it was probably inevitable.  
  
She wondered about Parker as well. Had Raines and the Centre played God once again and created a new clone, or a super pretender from some strange genetic blend?  
  
"Miss Parker." A voice called behind her. She winced as she recognized it. She turned and faced one of the men she loathed the most in the world.  
  
"Hello Amaru. Shouldn't you be running things in Africa?" She spat. An amused expression came over his face and he approached her.  
  
"I'm here to find out what happened last week." He replied. He looked her over in a way Lyle never had, and she felt a chill.  
  
"It looks like we have found a traitor in the Centre after all." She replied. Amaru nodded solemnly and then gestured for another man to step forward from the door.  
  
The man was very old and wore round wire rimmed spectacles over his gray eyes. He was slightly taller than Miss Parker and had many years on his face. He held out a thin, wrinkled hand and she looked at it in disgust.  
  
"Who is this?" She snapped. Amaru looked between them and smiled.  
  
"This is Dr. Varian Sarff." Amaru replied. "From now on, he'll be in charge of your brothers' care."  
  
Miss Parker sized up the old man and nodded. "Nice to meet you." She said.  
  
"The pleasure is all mine." Varian Sarff replied in a thick German accent.  
  
"We must be getting along, to go visit your dear brother." Amaru said, putting a long arm around the old mans shoulders and steering him out of the sim lab. They squeezed past Broots and Sydney as they entered. Sydney threw a suspicious glance at the old man and then hurried to Miss Parker.  
  
"Wow, who was that creepy old guy?" Broots said.  
  
"His name is Dr. Varian Sarff." Miss Parker replied rolling her eyes. Her eyes then met Sydney's dismayed expression. "What is it Syd?"  
  
Sydney shook his head and sighed heavily. The others looked at him with noted concern.  
  
"No good could come from that man's presence." Sydney said cryptically.  
  
"Why is that, Syd?" Miss Parker said curiously.  
  
"I have a feeling, is all." The older man replied. Miss Parker shook her head and looked at Broots.  
  
"Did you find out anything else about Aisling?" She demanded.  
  
"Nothing." Broots replied. Miss Parker angrily folded her arms and glared at Broots.  
  
"Well, I suppose I'm off to Possum Hole then." She snapped. "The moment anything happens with Lyle, I want to know!"  
  
"S-sure, Miss Parker." Broots replied. She began to walk toward the door and then stopped and looked at Broots.  
  
"And another thing, Broots. I want you to search Lyle's house for anything that may shed some light on what is going on here." She demanded.  
  
"B-but Miss Parker!" He exclaimed. She glared at the tech.  
  
"B-but nothing, Broots! The last time I checked the boogeyman was in a coma." She then whirled about and left the lab.  
  
Broots sighed heavily and threw a defeated glance at Sydney.  
  
"Sometimes, I really hate this job." Broots said. Sydney nodded.  
  
"Oh, Broots." Sydney said. Broots looked at the man and frowned. "See if you can find any information about Varian Sarff, if you would." Sydney grinned. Broots shook his head.  
  
"Sometime, I have to show you guys how to work a computer." Broots sighed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Emily looked through the boxes Lyle had left. She closed her eyes and could feel him all around her. His clothes were in the closet and his personal effects had been situated long before their arrival.  
  
She had spent the better half of the day taking an inventory of the cabin. Aidan played in his room and she looked in on him occasionally.  
  
She'd finally walked away from Lyle's belongings and had begun looking through the boxes and files he'd left detailing his plans. She'd begun to ache inside. She never would have guessed what a profound effect his absence would make.  
  
She opened her eyes and pulled another file out of a box. She looked at the label. Another blueprint. This one was for a place called Donoterase. This was the eighth one.  
  
Lyle had been planning something specifically for each of these locations. Each folder contained blueprints and pages of notes. Security system codes. Guard positions and staff shift schedules. He also had written rough ideas and made sketches of his plans. She shook her head. She couldn't do any of this.  
  
Folder number nine was the Centre. This one was thick. She smiled Lyle had something big set aside for the old homestead. She flipped through this and then set it aside in the growing pile. He would hate that. He was always so neat and organized.  
  
She pulled open another box and found it was full of wires and electronic devices. She picked them up and looked at each one, flipping switches and pushing buttons. She set each of these aside as she went on to the next.  
  
She was going to need more information if she was going to be able to do anything with what he left her. Lyle had left instructions for what was next and supplies in the cabin, but none of the important stuff like how to do it. She supposed that his inner optimist must have thought he'd be there with them instead of...  
  
She stood and found herself in the middle of a huge ring of stuff. She looked around for a narrowing and carefully stepped outside of the circle. She sighed as she flopped onto her back on the couch.  
  
She reached for the envelope on the coffee table and spilled the contents onto her stomach. She picked up the photographs and looked at each one before looking at the letter again and smiling wanly.  
  
"I wish you were here." She said softly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Amaru entered the renewal wing room followed by Varian. Cox looked up from where he stood beside Lyle's bed as the two men approached. He grimaced slightly as Varian clapped a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Hello, so nice to see you once again. It has been a very long time." Varian smiled at the younger man who gazed at him neutrally.  
  
"It has been a long time." Cox replied and looked back at Lyle.  
  
Lyle's face was pale and his eyelids had a faint gray tint to them. He looked like he was dead, but they all knew otherwise. All those in that room were familiar with death.  
  
"How is his condition?" Amaru asked.  
  
"He is stable, but still in a coma. I'm sure you already knew that." Cox replied with a hint of sarcasm. Amaru glared at Cox and was about to speak but Varian raised a hand to silence him.  
  
"Johan! Boys, I taught you better than to bicker amongst yourselves." Varian said. "You all have made me too proud to waste it in pettiness."  
  
Amaru shook his head and wandered over to watch the monitors with his back turned to the others. Varian picked up the chart that hung at the foot of Lyle's bed and glanced over the pages.  
  
"Ah. I think I know just the thing." He said and then looked at the two men who avoided the gaze of the other. "I will have Lyle awake soon enough and then my boys can go back to the Triumvirate and put this all behind them."  
  
Varian nodded confidently and then exited the room. Cox and Amaru looked at one another briefly and then back at Lyle. They stood in a silent stalemate with the beeping of the monitors, waiting for the other to break the silence.  
  
"He deserves this. This is his entire fault." Amaru finally said. Cox glared at him silently. "What?" Amaru said in protest.  
  
"You never did like him." Cox said.  
  
"I never liked either of you." Amaru spat. "But Varian decided that the two of you were among his 'Golden Boys' so I have no choice but to put up with you."  
  
"Ah, until you have us killed that is." Cox said and then narrowed his eyes at the other man. Amaru glared at him.  
  
"Exactly what are you saying?" Amaru demanded. Cox smiled at him and Amaru shook his head in disgust.  
  
"I'm not going to let you kill him on my watch." Cox said.  
  
"Ah, like Tom and Huck. I really am touched." Amaru said smirking as he left the room.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aidan stacked the blocks in his room. He sat back on his crossed legs and sized up his creation. Then he reached forward and switched a couple blocks around. He felt a cool breeze and looked behind him curiously.  
  
A little girl with long brown hair and a white dress and holding a doll stood behind him. He jumped a little, startled and then frowned at her puzzled.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked quietly. The little girl smiled and stepped forward and sat down in front of him.  
  
"My name is Angel." She giggled. "What's yours?"  
  
He thought for a moment and then answered confidently. "Aidan."  
  
"Hi, Aidan." She said. "Do you want to play?" He nodded wordlessly and she moved over to his structure.  
  
"This needs to be over here." Angel said moving a piece. Aidan scrutinized her move and then nodded with acceptance.  
  
"Are your mom and dad with Em-lee?" He asked. Angel shook her head.  
  
"My mom and dad are with your mom." She replied. Aidan nodded in understanding.  
  
"Did they tell you about her?" Angel asked pointing at his head. Aidan nodded.  
  
"Em-lee's my mommy now." He replied. "She's nice." Angel nodded in approval.  
  
"Yes, she is." She replied.  
  
"My daddy's not." Aidan said. "He's a bad man. He's sleep."  
  
Angel studied his face and touched his hand gently.  
  
"Maybe Emily will fix him." She said hopefully. Aidan put a few more blocks in place and sat back once again.  
  
"Not when he's there." He said darkly.  
  
"Aidan?" Emily called from the doorway. He looked up at her, startled.  
  
"Yes Em-lee?" He said. She walked in and looked around the room.  
  
"I thought I heard someone talking in here." She said. "Who were you talking to?"  
  
"Angel." Aidan said and looked beside him and pointed at the girl happily.  
  
Emily looked at the space beside him and looked at him curiously. "Ah hum." She nodded with slight concern. Her expression drew into shock when she looked at his building.  
  
"My God." She said quietly and then shook her head. "Aidan, do you want a sandwich?"  
  
Aidan smiled and nodded his head as he jumped to his feet. He ran out the door past her and she reluctantly drew her eyes from the Centre to go and make him his sandwich.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Jordan paced the room before stopping again to look at Ethan. Ethan sighed as he anticipated the next wave of teen angst from the young man.  
  
"You have that, inner sense, right?" Jordan prodded. Ethan nodded.  
  
"Well, you can find Jarod with that and we can help him." Jordan said. Ethan shook his head.  
  
"No, we should stay with Margaret and Charles." Ethan said. Jordan let out a frustrated cry and glared at him.  
  
"They killed Emily! They'll lock Jarod up if they catch him and you're just going to sit back and let it all happen!" Jordan wailed.  
  
"Keep your voice down." Ethan warned. Margaret and Charles were upstairs fighting for a few hours rest.  
  
"I don't think Jarod is in any danger right now." Ethan said. "And besides that, I don't even think that Emily is dead."  
  
"What? She is Ethan! The Centre report..."  
  
"The Centre also knew that Lyle, Raines and Alex were dead too." Ethan reminded him. Jordan shook his head.  
  
"Think about it, Jordan. Emily was kidnapped by Alex and then somehow ended up with Lyle. Maybe she picked something up from them. After all we're all pretenders, right?" Ethan said.  
  
"I guess." Jordan replied.  
  
"What do you think Emily was doing all that time she went off on her own? Besides that, they tell me she's not dead." Ethan said making a brief gesture toward his head.  
  
"Well if she's not dead, then where is she?" Jordan said.  
  
"I don't know? They're voices, not a GPS coordinator!" Ethan said. He rose and straightened his shirt. "I'm going to try and get some rest."  
  
"Good, when you wake up then maybe your head will be clear enough to find them!" Jordan called after him. Ethan shook his head as he headed up the stairs.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Amaru walked into the doctor's on-call room at St. Mercy's hospital. He grabbed a lab coat off of a hangar and clipped on an ID badge. He then headed out to the main corridor and then to the Intensive Care Unit.  
  
He approached the nurse's station and asked to see the chart of the John Doe brought in a few days earlier. The redheaded nurse handed him the chart and he smiled kindly at her and then walked to number 9.  
  
"Multiple gunshot wounds and concussion." Amaru said aloud as he reached the patient's bedside. "Patient is in stable, but serious condition. Alex, what would we have done if they'd actually killed you?" Amaru grinned.  
  
Alex grimaced as he moved the bed up and glared at Amaru.  
  
"Have you ever been shot?" Alex growled.  
  
"No, I actually like to steer myself away from the dangerous activities that you and Lyle seem drawn to." Amaru said closing the chart. "So are you going to tell me what that little stunt was all about, or are you taking the truth to the grave with you?"  
  
"Lyle and that little witch took the kid and I couldn't stop them." Alex grumbled. "Lyle has his own agenda now that he's gotten mixed up with that girl."  
  
"That little witch shot you three times and pushed you into the river." Amaru replied.  
  
"Yeah, I'm aware of that." Alex replied. "Her and her brother both."  
  
"Brother?" Amaru asked.  
  
"Yeah, she's Emily. Jarod's sister?" Alex beamed at having the upper hand. "You didn't know, huh?"  
  
"So Jarod is involved in this as well?" Amaru asked angrily. Alex shook his head.  
  
"I think Jarod would die if he knew about Lyle and Emily." Alex grinned. "She's a real doll-baby. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you hated being out 'in the field.'"  
  
"I'm afraid that your and Lyle's actions made my presence necessary." Amaru snapped. "I'm taking you back to the Triumvirate."  
  
Alex raised his eyebrows and sighed. "I wouldn't know how to be administrative anymore."  
  
"You'll just have to get used to it." Amaru replied.  
  
"Is Lyle dead?" Alex asked.  
  
"Not yet." Amaru replied smiling slightly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Broots entered the dark house and fidgeted with his flashlight for a few moments before successfully switching it on. He looked about and noted that the place had already been turned over probably by sweepers as he walked down the hallway. He carefully looked inside each room before finding Lyle's home office.  
  
He crept into the room and looked around for a moment from where he stood. He saw bookshelves lined with various titles, texts and instruction manuals. The office had similar décor to the rest of Lyle's rooms. He focused on the desk and took a step forward.  
  
The light in the room came on and Broots froze. He stiffened when he felt the muzzle of a gun pressed to the back of his head.  
  
"What are you doing here?" A woman's angry voice asked behind him.  
  
"I, uh, well, I um, someone asked me to come here and get a few of Lyle's things." He stammered as he felt his palms sweat.  
  
"Who?" The voice demanded.  
  
"Um, M-Miss Parker." Broots replied.  
  
"Where is Lyle?" The voice growled. Broots turned around slowly, a bold move for the man, but he was determined to see his assailant before he died. The woman took a step back and allowed him to face her, but kept her weapon raised.  
  
"Aisling?" Broots gasped.  
  
"That's not what I asked." She said coldly. "Where is Lyle?"  
  
"H-He is in the renewal wing." Broots said and looked at the woman nervously. Her expression softened a little.  
  
"The renewal wing?" She asked.  
  
"He's in a coma." Broots replied. Aisling took a deep breath and lowered her weapon to her side.  
  
"But he's alive." She said more to herself. Broots nodded frantically.  
  
"Yes, yes he's alive." He said. She looked at him and then over at the desk.  
  
"What were you looking for, Broots?" She asked. Before he could respond she looked back at him. "She sent you here to find out what he was doing." She said.  
  
"Yeah." Broots replied.  
  
Aisling holstered her gun and walked over to the desk. She sat in the chair and smiled at him.  
  
"You're not going to find anything here." She said. "He was very careful about that."  
  
"What are you doing?" Broots asked cautiously. "I mean, I thought you were dead and now you're here and I'm here and."  
  
"You shouldn't talk when you don't know what you're going to say Broots." She replied. "For what it's worth, we're doing the right thing."  
  
"The right thing?" Broots asked.  
  
"Yes." She replied. "And if you go back to that place and tell them that you saw me they'll kill him and come after me. Then I would have to kill you." She said. Broots eyes grew wide and his face paled.  
  
"I don't want to hurt anyone, Broots. Hell, I never even fired a gun until six months ago. From what my brother says, you're one of the good guys and I hope that I can trust you." She said.  
  
"Your brother? Lyle?" He asked bewildered.  
  
"No." Aisling replied. "My name is Emily." Broots was silent for a few minutes while he processed what she'd told him.  
  
"My God." He finally said. "Lyle really is working with Jarod!"  
  
"Not Jarod." She said. "Just me. As far as I know, Jarod doesn't know anything about this."  
  
"S-so what are you doing?" Broots prodded. Emily stood and walked over to the bookcase and pulled a couple books off the shelf.  
  
"I am just getting a few things." She replied. She looked at him questioningly. "I can trust you?"  
  
"Yeah." Broots nodded. "Just one thing, what happened to little, Parker?"  
  
"Alex took him." She replied. "I have to find a way to get him back, obviously without Lyle."  
  
"W-we, um, Miss Parker and I and uh, Sydney could help." He stammered. Emily shook her head.  
  
"No, I have to do this alone. Remember that you never saw me." She replied and then walked out the door.  
  
Broots looked at his flashlight and then around the room for a few minutes before leaving as well.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Miss Parker showed the innkeeper the pictures of Lyle and Aisling. He looked hard at them and then nodded his head.  
  
"Yeah, I remember those two. Bonnie and Clyde." He said and then glanced at Miss Parker who looked at him annoyed.  
  
"Bonnie and Clyde?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's what the other fella called them when he was looking for them a while back. While they was still here." The man replied.  
  
"What did this man look like?" She asked.  
  
"He was kinda stocky and had blondish hair. He was wearin a Statie uniform. Clyde said his name would be Alex." He said.  
  
"Did Alex join them?" She asked leaning on the counter.  
  
"No, Clyde, uh, Bobby said he wanted to know if this Alex guy came around lookin for them and when he did they cleared out right away. It wasn't fifteen minutes after Alex came and I called them that they were turning in their keys. I guess he must've been trouble for them."  
  
"Can I see where they stayed?" She asked.  
  
"Been a while, but I don't see why not." The innkeeper said and then handed her a key.  
  
Miss Parker drove out to the secluded cabin and parked her rental. She walked up the front porch stairs and turned around to face the lake. It was very quiet and the sunrays reflected from the water's glassy surface.  
  
Lyle had come here six months ago with Aisling when he was supposed to be burying his adoptive parents. It was Lyle's MO, bring a pretty girl out to a secluded cabin. But he didn't kill this one.  
  
Miss Parker walked to the door and unlocked it before heading inside. She looked around at the drab furniture in the living room and kitchen. She was tired of coming to these places only to find that most of the evidence was gone, or led her on some wild goose chase.  
  
A noise from the back room caught her attention and she drew her gun and cautiously walked toward the bedroom. She peered through the crack of the door before calling out.  
  
"Whoever is in there better come out before I come in shooting!" She shouted.  
  
She waited a few moments before the door slowly creaked all the way open and revealed the person within.  
  
"Jarod! Why should I be surprised?" She growled.  
  
"Maybe you should put that down?" Jarod replied pointing at her gun.  
  
She holstered her weapon and walked inside. Jarod sat on the bed and rubbed his face and then looked at the floor. He looked like he hadn't been sleeping at all, with dark circles around his eyes and the overall appearance of exhaustion.  
  
"I know why I'm here, what's your story genius?" She asked. He looked up at her.  
  
"I'm looking for the same thing you are." He replied. "I'm trying to figure out why your brother came here with my sister." Miss Parker's eyes grew wide and she gasped slightly.  
  
"Your..." She began and coughed. "Aisling is your sister?"  
  
"Emily." Jarod replied. "Lyle brought her here after Alex kidnapped her. She told me that she'd escaped out of Alex's car and someone gave her a ride. I guess that someone was Lyle." Jarod looked at her and she shook her head.  
  
"The innkeeper said that someone called Alex was after whom he called Bonnie and Clyde." Miss Parker replied. Jarod nodded.  
  
"Then Lyle was protecting her from Alex." He said. "Lyle gave her a gun also. All this time we thought she was learning how to protect herself when she was really training for this."  
  
"And what is This?" Miss Parker hissed.  
  
"I can only guess that she and Lyle were trying to stop Alex from taking Parker." Jarod replied. "I don't know. She disappeared in the middle of the night and was at the Centre the following morning."  
  
"With Lyle." Miss Parker nodded. "He said that she was from this place." She gestured about the room. "I think that she and Lyle were trying to take Parker from the Centre. I thought Alex was involved too. We won't know anything until Lyle wakes up."  
  
"If Lyle wakes up." Jarod replied solemnly.  
  
"What does that mean?" She asked.  
  
"There is a termination order out for Lyle." Jarod said. Miss Parker drew in a breath.  
  
"So when they find out where Aisling is they're going to kill him." She said. Jarod frowned.  
  
"Aisling, Emily is dead." He said.  
  
"I don't think so." Miss Parker replied. "According to what information we have on Aisling, her blood type is AB negative. The blood by the river was B positive, which is Alex's blood type and makes sense since Lyle had shot him before he chased Aisling and Parker to the river."  
  
"So Emily shot him and set it up to look like she was killed." Jarod said and then chuckled darkly. "I suppose she learned well from your brother."  
  
"I'll say she's learned a few things from him." She said slyly, remembering what she saw at Triumvirate Station.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jarod asked. She enjoyed the anxious look on his face. She took a deep breath before she began.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Emily stood at the counter of the little hamburger stand. She looked down at Aidan, who searched the place with a wondrous expression. She smiled and decided that she should have taken him outside sooner. The boy had been cooped up at the Centre and Triumvirate Station his entire life.  
  
She thanked the teen that handed her their food and looked around for a place to sit. She spotted a table and was heading toward it when she heard her voice.  
  
"Emily?" The woman asked. Emily froze as she recognized it. She turned around to face the smiling redhead.  
  
"Zoe?" Emily asked cautiously. Zoe approached her and beamed.  
  
"It is you! How are you? Who's the kid?" Zoe chimed. Her expression grew curious, as Emily's became startled.  
  
"He's uh, I'm babysitting." Emily stammered in response. "I'd love to talk, Zoe, but we really must be going." Emily forced a smile and called for Aidan to follow her to the car.  
  
Emily helped Aidan into the car and handed him the bag and then got in herself and pulled away. Zoe! Exactly what she didn't need was to run into someone she knew. Someone who could get back to her family.  
  
At the hamburger stand Zoe eyed her chilidog and then tossed it into the trash as she went to her red convertible.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sydney walked into the dark room in the renewal wing. He saw the man lying on the bed and glanced at the monitors that recorded his every heartbeat, breath, and brain activity. He had come down there quite a few times in the past week.  
  
He walked over to Lyle and studied the man's face, wondering what was going on in the younger man's mind. Lyle had been so guarded that no one could have predicted the recent events. No one also knew what the Centre had done with him, what Varian Sarff had done to him.  
  
Varian's appearance unsettled Sydney. He'd seen the DSA's of Varian's "work" with young Bobby and the results of those experiments once Bobby had grown up. Now the man was back, presumably to "fix" whatever had gone wrong with Lyle. He was there to reeducate him.  
  
Sydney had heard the murmurings of a termination order on Lyle and had dismissed them once Varian had appeared. He decided that the so-called order was a ruse to bring Lyle's co-conspirators out of the woodwork.  
  
He'd promised himself not two weeks ago that he would find a way to help this man. Now he lay in their hands with the man who had destroyed him waiting for him to awaken.  
  
Sydney had been optimistic in that he could begin working with Lyle once he came around, to reverse some of the damage Varian had caused. But the Centre obviously had different plans for Lyle.  
  
Sydney had taken matters into his own hands many times before. He had decided when to step in and what actions to take to prevent the Centre from committing any more atrocities that he were aware of. This was just one more of those times.  
  
Sydney walked over to the cabinet and selected a vial. He picked up a syringe and carefully drew the solution into the chamber. He tapped the syringe to bring the bubbles to the top and pressed the plunger to make a nice small drop.  
  
Sydney walked back to Lyle's bedside and carefully inserted the syringe needle into Lyle's IV. A hand clamped down on his wrist and yanked it away. Sydney gasped and looked at the man beside him.  
  
"What were you going to do that for, Sydney?" Cox said, his face awash in anger.  
  
"I." Sydney said and then didn't continue. He took a step back and watched Cox pull the syringe from the IV and dispense its solution into the sink before throwing it away. He glared at Sydney.  
  
"Of all the people, Amaru sent you." Cox said.  
  
"Amaru?" Sydney said and shook his head. "No one sent me."  
  
"You were just going to kill him of your own accord?" Cox asked.  
  
"I was trying to end all of this! The Centre has been manipulating and destroying people for far too long and I am not going to stand back and watch anymore!" Sydney shouted.  
  
"So you kick a man when he's down?" Cox asked.  
  
"I was helping him!" Sydney seethed. "If you knew the things they've done..." Sydney said and Cox waved a hand at him to stop.  
  
"The things Varian has done to him." Cox said absently. He eyed Sydney warily. "How do you know about that?"  
  
"I saw the DSA's of Lyle's training." Sydney said. Cox nodded.  
  
"So you know." Cox said. "I want to help him too, Sydney, but this is not the way."  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
"So where do you think he's hiding them?" Jarod asked. He was slightly paled after Miss Parker had laid out all the details for him. Miss Parker smiled slightly at his unease.  
  
"If I knew that, then there wouldn't be a problem." She replied. Jarod shook his head again, as he had during her story.  
  
"I can't," Jarod said and then sighed. "I can't see them, together." He finished. Miss Parker nodded.  
  
"Well, it was a shock for me and I didn't even know she was your sister." She said and then chuckled. "So you told her all about Vegas, huh?"  
  
"What?" Jarod asked looking up at her confused.  
  
"She mentioned a few details about Vegas that only you could have dispensed." Miss Parker replied. "Only she attributed it to Centre surveillance."  
  
"Yet her vast knowledge of the Centre didn't tell her where the break room is." Jarod chuckled a little. "Don't go back." He said quietly.  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
"I'll find Emily." He said. "I'm sure she's taking care of Parker and won't hurt him. Then maybe we can disappear."  
  
Miss Parker raised her eyebrows. "You think it's that easy?" She sneered. "It is their intention to make Parker into another pretender! After all the trouble they went into with this one, I don't think they'll just let him go!"  
  
"I wonder what he told her." Jarod said. "I wonder how he got her to participate in this. We were all there, he could have called a sweeper team to come for all of us." Miss Parker frowned.  
  
"Lyle gave up a chance to haul all of you back?" She shook her head. "And then he gets shot giving her the chance to get away."  
  
"And she tried to keep us from looking for her." Jarod said. Miss Parker looked at him.  
  
"What?" She asked. Jarod shook his head.  
  
"Mom." He said. "She told us not to worry about Emily."  
  
"You think your mother was in on this?" She asked in disbelief.  
  
"She knew about Carthis." Jarod replied. "She tried to keep me from coming here." Miss Parker sat down beside him.  
  
"You don't think that Parker may be..." She said and then looked at him. He nodded.  
  
"I think that exactly." He replied.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Emily looked at the drawing in the book and then at the device she was working on. She thought of Lyle lying in a coma in the depths of the Centre.  
  
It was only fitting that he was there trapped in the same desolate void where her brothers had been kept for most of their lives. God she could use Ethan now, he knew how to make these things.  
  
The next part of the plan was to take out Pakor Frozen Foods. Why Lyle wanted to shut down a grocer she didn't know. She decided that since it was only her, she should probably use a bomb. So she'd had to go to Lyle's house for the instruction manuals and find herself face to face with Broots.  
  
How long would it be before he went to Miss Parker and the Centre came looking for her? Her ruse had apparently worked, for the meantime.  
  
She wondered if Jarod knew about Aisling and thought that she may be dead. The thought hurt her, that her family may be mourning her loss while she sat here building bombs per a madman's instructions.  
  
She froze and dropped her tools when she heard the knock. She slowly turned toward the door.  
  
In her dreams it was Lyle. He would walk in and make some smart-ass excuse for being so late and she'd say something nasty in response. Then, she'd kiss him and the following was the stuff Harlequin spat out for the masses.  
  
She guessed that this wasn't going to be one of those moments.  
  
Emily pulled out her gun and quietly walked to the door. She hesitated in front of it and drew a deep breath before throwing the door open and ramming her gun into the woman's chest.  
  
"Emily!" The woman screamed. Emily blinked and then lowered her weapon.  
  
"Zoe?" Emily asked. Zoe nodded slowly and open-mouthed. She drew a deep breath and relaxed her stance a little.  
  
"What's going on?" Zoe asked. Emily shook her head and motioned for Zoe to step inside.  
  
"It's a long and very complicated story. I don't know if I should even tell you, Zoe. It's dangerous." Emily said closing the door.  
  
"Babysitting isn't all that dangerous." Zoe said trying to make a joke. The ghost of a smile passed over Emily's face. "Does it involve the Centre?"  
  
"Oh yeah." Emily said putting the gun down. She looked down at Aidan who grabbed her hand in concern. Emily bent down and picked the boy up.  
  
"What's his name?" Zoe asked.  
  
"Aidan." Emily replied.  
  
"Is he another pretender?" Zoe asked.  
  
"Yeah." Emily said.  
  
"Like, Jordan?" Zoe asked hesitantly.  
  
"No." Emily replied. "His parents actually had something to do with him." She said stroking the boy's hair out of his eyes. "I'm going to put him to bed."  
  
Emily left Zoe in the living room and carried Aidan to his bedroom. She tucked the little boy into his bed and turned off the light. She left the door open a crack before she joined Zoe.  
  
Zoe was studying the device Emily was working on and looked up as she entered the room.  
  
"So, what are we gonna blow up?" Zoe asked with a devilish grin.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
The following morning, Ethan came down the stairs and walked to the kitchen. He pulled a bowl and a box of cereal out of a cabinet and got a spoon and milk. He sat down at the table and fixed his breakfast. He dug his spoon into the cereal and was about to take a bite when Jordan caught his eye.  
  
"Well?" Jordan asked expectantly.  
  
"Well what? I haven't tasted it yet." Ethan replied. Jordan shifted his weight to his other foot and sighed impatiently.  
  
"Have they told you anything?" Jordan asked.  
  
"Who? Margaret and Charles? They're out back." Ethan said motioning to the kitchen window.  
  
"No." Jordan said frustrated. "I'm talking about the voices Ethan! You know the dogs or whatever that talks to you."  
  
"Dogs?" Ethan said and chuckled. "Like the Son of Sam, right?"  
  
"We have to help them." Jordan said stubbornly.  
  
"I'll tell you what." Ethan said. "I'm going to eat my breakfast and then I'll think about it. If we haven't done anything about it yet and everything is all right then nothing is going to change in the next twenty minutes or so."  
  
Ethan dug his spoon into the cereal again and waited for Jordan's retort. Instead, his ears filled with the sounds of beeping instruments and his vision grew blurry. He blinked and shook his head. When he blinked again the room had changed.  
  
He was lying on a bed in a dark room. He looked about and saw a heart monitor and a couple other monitors. He heard the hissing of a respirator and felt the stinging for the first time. The sting became sharp pain and it hurt more when he drew a breath.  
  
He blinked again and saw them for the first time. He knew one of the faces very well. Raines, Cox and another older man stood beside him. Looking down on him. He felt frightened at the unknown man's presence. The fear grew and he shook his head.  
  
"No!" Ethan yelled and then jumped when Jordan touched his shoulder. He looked up at the teen that eyed him with concern.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jordan asked. "You just spaced out." Ethan shook his head to clear the images.  
  
"I think." Ethan said and made a sour expression. "I think Lyle's the one who needs help."  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Lyle's awake and nobody called me!" Miss Parker snapped at the two men as she entered the Sim lab. Broots jumped with a start and Sydney simply nodded.  
  
"We've only just heard ourselves and knew you were already on the way in." Sydney replied. "Did you discover anything at Possum Kingdom?"  
  
"Only that Alex was after Lyle and Em, Aisling." She said. Broots and Sydney looked at her curiously.  
  
"Emily." Sydney corrected her. Miss Parker sighed.  
  
"I don't suppose I have to ask why you knew that before me and didn't say anything." She snapped. "But I could tell you that she is probably alive."  
  
Broots and Sydney exchanged glances and Miss Parker sighed heavily and placed her hands on her hips.  
  
"Yes?" She snapped.  
  
"I, uh, I kind of ran into her at Lyle's place, sort of." Broots stammered.  
  
"And you didn't call the sweepers because?" She demanded.  
  
"She said she would kill me." Broots said, looking pale. Miss Parker shook her head.  
  
"I suppose she's not there anymore." She said.  
  
"No, no." Broots replied.  
  
"Well, Broots, did she happen to reveal what in the Hell is going on?" Miss Parker asked impatiently.  
  
"No, she only said that they were doing what they are for the right reasons." Broots replied. "I, uh, did find this in Lyle's office at the Centre." He said holding up an envelope.  
  
Miss Parker snatched it from him and looked at the front.  
  
"James." She snapped. "Who the Hell is that?"  
  
"I don't know, Miss Parker." Broots replied.  
  
"That would be I." A voice called from behind them. They turned to see Cox approach them.  
  
"James Cox." Miss Parker said and chuckled. He plucked the envelope from her hand. "And how long were you standing there listening?"  
  
"Long enough." He said and winked at her. She made a sour face. "Are you planning on visiting your brother?" He asked.  
  
"I was just on my way." She said.  
  
"I'll save you a trip." Cox replied. "Raines has restricted access to Lyle to himself and Dr. Sarff. They have concerns that Lyle's life may be in danger."  
  
"This is the Centre; everyone's life is in danger!" Miss Parker snapped. Cox smiled and left the room. She turned to Broots.  
  
"Did you read it?" She asked.  
  
"No." Broots replied.  
  
"Damn it!" Miss Parker cried in frustration and stormed out of the room.  
  
Broots sighed in relief and looked at Sydney.  
  
"I thought she was going to shoot me." Broots said. Sydney smiled.  
  
"The day is young, Mr. Broots." Sydney replied.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Emily closed the case of her device and studied it in her hands. She could hear Aidan playing in his room, talking to his imaginary friend. Angel, they needed one.  
  
Emily carefully placed the bomb on the table as Zoe walked through the front door. Zoe dropped her bags on the floor and carelessly kicked them aside.  
  
"That it?" Zoe asked nodding at the bomb.  
  
"Yeah." Emily said, staring at it, contemplating it. Would it go off? It was worth a shot. Zoe took a seat beside her and touched her hand gently.  
  
"Are you thinking about Bobby?" Zoe asked. Emily had filled her in on the situation through the night. Almost everything, except for the fact that Lyle was Bobby. She would deal with that when the time came. For now she needed someone, a friend, someone to be there, that she could trust.  
  
"Yeah." Emily said. She looked off toward Aidan's room, Zoe followed her stare.  
  
"He's a sweet boy." Zoe said. "I guess that's the important part because despite what happens, he's out of that place and away from those people. That's probably what Bobby wanted, a better life for his son."  
  
"He wanted more than that." Emily said looking at the device on the table. Will it work?  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Margaret continued stirring her tea in the kitchen. She heard her older son in the living room. He had returned to them, as she feared he might not. His father and 'brothers were interrogating him.' She already knew the answers and she knew that he would come for them, sooner then later.  
  
"Mom." She heard him finally say. She looked up and nodded at him. He came to sit beside her at the table and she took a sip of her tea. The story would come easily; getting started was where the difficulty lay.  
  
"I don't know what to tell you, Jarod." She replied and looked at his face. He was trying to suppress his anger, his desire for the truth. "Emily knew what she was getting herself into. She knew what the risks were and whom she was dealing with."  
  
"Emily is alive." Jarod said softly. Margaret sighed in relief.  
  
"Did you see her?" She asked.  
  
"No." He replied. "A source informed me."  
  
"What else did Miss Parker tell you?" She asked. She saw the surprise register in his expression. "In this war, the lines are blurred. It's every man and woman for himself or herself. You can form alliances and hope they hold out as long as you need them to. What nobody realizes is that they're all fighting for the same thing."  
  
"What is that?" Jarod asked. She took another sip.  
  
"You need to rest, Jarod. We all do. Consider this a respite. The sides are divided, confused. Allow yourself some peace in all this confusion, before everyone regroups and the next campaign begins."  
  
"Or we could seize the opportunity to deal a blow when the wool is still over their eyes." Jarod replied.  
  
"A cheap shot." Margaret replied. "Rest Jarod, the war will still be there in the morning and maybe then I could tell you more."  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Emily ran toward the fence. She heard someone shouting behind her and kept going. Someone had seen her heading out of the building and she'd started in a dead run.  
  
She grabbed the fence and hoisted herself over as the voices drew nearer. The car swung around and Emily dropped over the other side, landing on her feet and grabbed the fence to keep her balance.  
  
She looked back and saw them getting close. She bolted the last couple of feet and tore open the door of the car. She climbed in and started yelling for Zoe to drive before she'd even closed the door.  
  
They got about two hundred yards away when they heard it. Emily turned around and saw Aidan peeking up over the back dashboard.  
  
"Aidan, get back in your seat!" Emily cried as she saw the flames leap from the building. She reached back and pulled his seat belt back together and buckled it before sitting back in her seat and fastening her own seatbelt.  
  
She looked at Zoe who tried to remain focused on the road.  
  
"I guess it worked." Emily said. Zoe nodded.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Raines dragged his oxygen tank over debris as he emerged from his sedan at Pakor. He surveyed the mess as a couple sweepers ran to meet him.  
  
"They got away?" Raines hissed. The sweepers nodded solemnly. Raines shook his head.  
  
"Do you have an ID on the bomber?" Raines wheezed.  
  
"Yes, the video feed shows a woman run into the lab and set the bomb and leave." One of the men replied.  
  
"Who was it?" Raines demanded. The two men looked at one another.  
  
"Aisling." One of them finally said.  
  
"Aisling!" Raines cried. He shook his head angrily. "I want the entire area searched. I want her found and brought back to the Centre!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Zoe pulled into the driveway and stopped the engine. She looked at Emily and the two women grinned and high-fived each other.  
  
"Yeah!" Zoe cried.  
  
"We did it!" Emily beamed. She got out of the car and pulled open Aidan's door. She unbuckled his belt and picked him up. She followed Zoe up the stairs and walked through the door that Zoe held open.  
  
She stopped after a couple of steps. Zoe stopped beside her and the two of them stared at the man standing before them. Aidan looked at him and struggled with Emily. Emily set Aidan down and drew her gun.  
  
"James!" Aidan chimed as he ran to the man.  
  
"Aidan!" Emily cried, but Aidan had already been swept into the man's arms. He smiled at her.  
  
"Hello, Emily." Cox grinned.  
  
To Be Continued .  
  
Feedback is Welcome!  
  
melvansickle@earthlink.net 


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